Re- Constructingthe Limits Of Film Narrative in relation to the Concept of Identification through the Possibilities of Digital Cinema

Abstract

Since the beginning of human history, the tradition of narrative has existed in different forms. Today, its most popular form is the film narrative. With the development of visual and aural technologies, the structure of the film narrative has transformed. Digital cinema has led to a revolution in the traditional production of film, where its primary effects were felt in the reconstruction of the boundaries of the film narrative. One of the most important elements of film narrative, which will be at the center of this study, is the concept of identification. Identification relates to the relationship the spectator forms with the film’s main characters. In this study, the possibilities and boundaries of film narratives, that have once again become the center of discussion with the advent of digital cinema, will be analyzed through the concept of identification. The first theoretical framework will be traced around Bazin’s theories on cinematic realism; while digital cinema and the concept of virtuality will be opened to discussion through the works of Manovich, Casetti, Frampton and Boudrillard. The process of identification cannot be given meaning through a rational paradigm, while at the same time is the most important element in understanding how the spectator perceives the construction of reality in the film narrative. This process had taken on a more complex structure with the advent of digitalization, as the way in which reality is experienced and the physical and philosophical experiences in themselves have come to the fore. This study takes this theoretical framework and looks at how digital possibilities have shifted the boundaries of film narrative and changed the process of identification, adding a physiological and philosophical dimension. This will be done through the analysis of the films Avatar (2009) and The Matrix (1999). The difference between the creation of reality and the way in which the spectator perceives this reality and the effects this difference might have will be undertaken in this analysis.